Risks 65
by Still Waters
Summary: Dealing with that problem zipper and sharing scars


Mediagirl, Shadowbeats22104, bookworn2340, All for Jesus, Ella, Lupin fan 1, Marqueza, guest, and anyone else who wondered what Nick and Maria got up to after the reception where they had to keep their hands to themselves, this one is for you. My second descent into mature fiction, though now that it's done, I think it may be a little heavier on character development and a little less smutty, but hopefully it's just racy enough. Thanks to all for the encouragement and review for chapters 2.5 and 6 in this little flight of fancy of mine. Hope you enjoy.

Risks 6.5

When the limo finally arrived back at the tower, everyone debarked, with the exception of Steve and Beth, as he had insisted on escorting her home, even though Pepper had told them both there was plenty of room for her to stay the night.

"It wouldn't be proper," Steve had insisted. "Besides, her grandparents might need her." The young woman had been raised by her elderly grandparents and still lived with them in the same apartment she had grown up in. Her grandfather's health was declining and Steve knew that she didn't want to be away from them any more than she had to. She had only reluctantly agreed to attend with him this evening at their insistence.

As the others exited the elevator on the residential floor discussing plans for the rest of the night, Natasha leaned over to Maria.

"You sure you don't need my help with that zipper?" she asked with a grin.

"I'm sure I'll figure out something," the brunette responded. "Besides," she nodded in Clint's direction, "Don't you have a bet to collect on?"

The red head growled low in her throat. "Indeed I do. Thanks for that, by the way."

"My pleasure."

"Talk to Fury about that," Romanoff replied softly, hooking her finger under Barton's tie and leading him down the corridor.

Fury looked to where the other two couples stood just out of earshot, Jane and Bruce ready to head for the research lab when Thor whispered another suggestions in Jane's ear. Blushing, she smiled up at him and nodded, allowing herself to be led away. Bruce thanked Darcy with a shy smile, then headed to his lab, mumbling softly to himself.

Darcy looked their direction. "Since everyone else is either playing egghead or having marathon sex, I don't suppose you'd be interested in hanging out? Raiding Stark's liquor cabinet and playing some poker, maybe?"

"Sorry. We were planning on some of that marathon sex ourselves," Nick told her straight-faced.

Darcy's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped as she looked from Nick to Maria, then back.

"Please tell me you're joking," she finally choked out.

Maria shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Of course he is, Miss Lewis. Unfortunately, though, I have to check my messages and follow up on some things back at headquarters."

Nick pulled out his mobile and looked at it, sighing heavily. "Looks like I have plenty of work waiting as well," he told the two ladies. "There are a couple of things here we should probably discuss, Agent Hill."

"Of course, sir," she told him, nodding a good night to the other woman before following him down the hallway. When they were out of sight, she elbowed him sharply in the side.

"Why would you tell her that?" she hissed

"Because I wanted to get a reaction out of you," he responded. "The look on your face was priceless."

She glared at him.

"Besides, I knew she wouldn't believe it."

"How could you be so sure?"

"Who would?" he questioned. "I mean, look at you. Why would someone like you hook up with someone like me?"

Before she could respond, they arrived at the door of her assigned suite and he laid a hand on her arm. "I do actually need to take care of a couple of things," he told her, indicating his mobile device.

"Me, too," she answered.

"I'll be back to help with that zipper as soon as I can," he told her, heading further down the corridor towards his own rooms.

She entered her quarters and sighed as she slipped out of the uncomfortable spike heels, relieved that the long dreaded event was finally over. Tuning her music player to soft jazz, she booted up her computer and quickly worked her way through the new messages. It never ceased to amaze her how many things arrived in her inbox when she was away, even for just a few hours. She sent replies to messages needing replies, deleted those that needed deleting, made a few calls to follow up on some things, then turned the system off. A soft tap at the side door brought a small smile to her face. Four suites had been set aside for use by the SHIELD officers. While each had it's own door off the curving corridor, they also all connected to a central office suite, well equipped enough to run most operations.

Nick was waiting patiently in the doorway. When she smiled at him, he held up a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. "I did like Miss Lewis's suggestion of raiding Starks wine cellar." Stepping back, she allowed him to enter, leading him into her sitting area. While he poured the wine, she settled onto the sofa, snuggling up close when he sat down next to her.

"Anything major in your inbox?" she asked.

"Nothing major, just some of those nagging details I have to deal with." They spent several minutes discussing issues and enjoying the wine, finally sitting quietly listening to the music.

Fury rose and held out a hand to her.

"May I have this dance, Miss Hill?"

Placing her hand in his, she rose to her feet. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head. She sighed in satisfaction.

"I wanted to do this all evening," he whispered softly.

They swayed together for several minutes, simply content to finally hold each other, not worrying about who might see. Pepper had assured everyone that the suites were completely private. Finally, he placed a finger under her chin, drawing her face up and allowing his lips to claim hers.

As the kiss deepened, she ran her hands up, pushing his jacket from his shoulders, then untying his tie and pulling it off to drop to the floor. His hands left their spot at her waist, stroking up her back to find the top off the zipper. He took the tab between his fingers and eased it downward, meeting no resistance.

"You have the magic touch," she murmured softly against his lips as she stepped back to let it drop to the floor. Reluctantly, she pulled away and bent to pick up the dress. "Got to be careful with this. Annie would have my head if it got damaged," she told him as she draped it across the back of a chair. When she turned back to him, he was staring at her, his gaze appreciatively taking in her undergarments.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, stepping close again.

"I'm thinking that I'd cheerfully strangle whoever invented panty hose," he told her, running a finger around the lace edge of her garter belt. "There's just something incredibly sexy about a woman in stockings and one of these."

He wrapped his arms around her again as she went to work undoing the studs of his tuxedo shirt. It soon joined his jacket and tie on the floor. As his lips reclaimed hers, he scooped her off her feet, carrying her into the bedroom. Just as he set her on her feet near the bed, his phone went off in the other room.

He cursed softly as he forced himself to step back. "I'm going to have to grab that."

She nodded. "Hurry back," she told him. pushing him towards the doorway. When he was gone, she sat down at her dressing table and removed her jewelry, placing it back it the appropriate cases. That done, she gazed in the mirror, remembering Pepper's look of horror upon seeing the scars crossing her back.

Biting her lip, she slowly swiveled the stool around, then looked over her shoulder to study the stripes there. Her mind went back to the mission gone wrong and to the sadist who had considered himself something of an artist with a whip. His obsession with breaking her had allowed the rest of the team to complete their mission, laying enough explosive to level his terrorist compound. Though she had planned to die there if she had to, Phil had refused to leave without her, carefully hoisting her over his shoulder as he made his way to the transport. When they had received word over the radio that the leader had been cornered, Phil changed directions and headed to where he was shooting it out with agents. He handed her a gun and helped her to find a proper vantage point to take her shot. In spite of her pain and weakness, she patiently waited and was finally rewarded when he looked up, catching her eye just as she squeezed off the kill shot.

A slight noise in the doorway drew her attention back to the present. She caught Nicks eye in the reflection, his face expressionless. Quickly, she turned back to face the mirror, grabbing up her hairbrush and running it through her hair.

He walked over to her, silently kneeling behind her, his eye never leaving the reflection of her face. Pushing her hair aside, he placed a soft kiss on her neck, keeping his lips pressed to her soft skin until her gaze finally locked with his. He leaned back slightly, placed a finger on one of the scars, tracing it down to where it ended at her lower back. Then, he lowered his head, allowing his lips to follow the same path his finger had just taken.

He found another line and repeated the process.

And again.

He felt her starting to relax under his touch.

His lips trailed down another scar. But this one didn't end on her back. This lash of the whip had wrapped around her slender waist, leaving one of several of the marks on her stomach. He swiveled the stool around, allowing his lips to stay in contact with the pale line to where it ended, just below the front clasp of her bra. Smiling up at her, he reached up and released it, allowing the silky fabric to drop behind her.

She leaned down, her lips seeking his as his hand gently cupped her breast, his thumb stroking her nipple. He broke the kiss to drop his mouth to the now erect bud, running his tongue across the pebbled surface before taking it in his mouth. One hand went to her waist, steadying her, while the other hand dropped to her silk clad calf and slowly worked its way up.

Maria groaned, arching her back as she sought more of his touch. He released her nipple, moving his lips to attend to her other breast. That one received the same tender attention, a gentle lick, a nibble, tantilizing suction.

Meanwhile, his hand had reached to top of her stocking and he stroked the soft flesh of her thigh before running his finger around the edge, gently playing with the elastic of her garter and moving to the inner thigh, then to the dark thatch there. His fingers pushed aside the string of her underwear, brushing lightly against her clitoris, then seeking our her opening. His lips abandoned her breast to trail kisses down her stomach, his tongue dipping into her naval as he slipped a finger inside her, stroking her wall.

When she groaned again, he slid another finger in to join the first, smiling at the warm wetness he found there. His lips continued their downward path, coming to a stop just before her nerve bundle. He looked up to her face, pleased by the heavy lidded look of pleasure on her face and the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

He stuck his tongue out again, tentatively touching her. She gasped and leaned back, spreading her thighs further. Encouraged by her response, he lowered his head again, his mouth licking and sucking her clit as his fingers continued exciting her.

"Yes!" she moaned, her hands resting on his head, her body almost aching from the pleasure of his touch, his fingers and his tongue seeming to know exactly how to please her.

Finally, he felt her tighten around him as she gasped and threw her head back. He wrapped his arms around her waist, watching her face as the orgasm ran its course. When she finally looked down at him, he drew his hand to his mouth, licking her wetness from his fingers, then stretching up to kiss her. He guided her legs around his waist, then rose, carrying her over to the bed.

When he sat her down, she quickly reached over, unfastening his pants and reaching into the waistband of his boxers, pushing them down to join the pants on the floor. She grasped his cock, squeezing it slightly as he laid her back on the bed. He slid his thigh between hers, encouraging them apart. Instead, she wrapped them around his leg and pushed him backwards, planting herself on top of him

"Your turn, Nick," she whispered, her lips laying claim to his. Her tongue dipped into his mouth, met by his, passionately dancing. Finally, she pulled back, her teeth lightly nipping at his lower lip before dropping a soft kiss onto his chin.

She trailed light kisses up his jaw line to his right ear, catching it lightly between her teeth, then sucking lightly. She shifted her body slightly, allowing her silk stocking clad leg to rub lightly against his erect cock as her lips continued exploring his face.

Releasing his ear lobe, she ran a line of kisses down his cheek bone to the end of his nose, the bridge, the line of his right eyebrow.

As she place her lips on his closed lid, he fluttered it slightly, his eyelashes tickling her and drawing a soft laugh from her.

"Are you telling me to slow down?" she asked.

"You're torturing me here, Maria," he groaned, drawing her hand down to his member. She stroked it, then reached up to his cup his cheek again.

"Don't worry. I'll get there. Eventually," she smiled.

Her lips moved back to his, again nipping at his lower lip before mirroring her earlier path up the other side of his face.

"Doing okay?" she whispered softly in his ear.

Her answer was a low growl.

Kissing his cheek bone, she noted the slight knots of bone not quite healed right. Her fingers moved to the spot, touching carefully as she studied the eyepatch and the scarring radiating out from it. She glanced over to his good eye, watching her.

"Is it okay to touch?" she asked.

When he nodded, she placed light fingers on the heavy marks, following them up to the patch and tracing gently around it.

"Do you want to see?" he asked her.

She was quiet for a moment.

"Do you want me to?" she responded.

"It's not very pretty."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a part of who you are. If you want to share that with me, I can deal with it. If you're not ready for that, I'm okay with that, too."

After studying her for a moment, he nodded and lifted his hand towards the black patch. She placed her hand on his wrist, stilling his movement.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

He stared at her, realizing that she really understood just how intimate a moment this was for him.

"Yes," he told her. "I trust you."

She ran a finger under the elastic strap and lifted it away, her eyes coming to rest on the damage. He watched her closely as her gaze took in the small glimpse of milky white eyeball visible beneath the drooping lid and the dark keloid lines surrounding it.

"Shrapnel, right?" she asked, her touch gentle.

"Yeah. When the grenade landed, I was shoving teammates behind cover before I got down. Almost made it, but caught the edge of the blast with my face, neck and chest. Severed the muscle on the eyelid and fractured most of the bones around the eye. The field medics did what they could, but we were in deep and it was several days before they could get me to proper medical care. By then, the damage was done."

She cocked her head, looking at him. "Can you see anything out of it?"

He closed his good eye, considering.

"Light and shadows somewhat. Some large movements." He shrugged. "Mostly, it's more distraction than help. Though it can be helpful when I'm trying to intimidate."

After a few more moments, she stretched up, her lips resting gently on the ruined socket.

"Now, where was I?" she asked coyly.

"I think," he told her, "You were right about here," guiding her hand back to his penis.

"Someone is getting impatient," she laughed. "I'm thinking I was somewhere about here," she told him, touching her lips to his neck, resting them on his pulse point and feeling it increase as her hand caressed where he had placed it.

"Maria," he protested, his desire making his voice husky.

Tender kisses landed on his chest, touching the scars there, moving downward, ever closer to where her hand still rested.

Finally, with a seductive smile, she poked her tongue out, running it around the head as her hand moved down his throbbing shaft to cup his balls. He groaned, lifting his hips towards her. She removed her mouth from him and blew gently. His strangled moan broadened her smile as she leaned down, taking his tip in her mouth again. After sucking slightly, she slid her lips down, taking as much of his shaft as she could.

With a loud groan, Nick tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her head up, guiding her up to lie next to him and rolling over to pin her beneath him. Again, he slid a thigh between hers, and this time she allowed him to position himself. He reached down to touch her, making sure that she was still wet and ready to receive him. Reassured, he slid his tip into her opening and she wrapped her legs around him, drawing him deep inside. When she started to tighten around him, he put his hands on her hips to still her.

"You start that, this is going to go pretty quickly," he told her.

"I think I'd be okay with that," she responded, her own breath coming quickly.

Finally, he started to move inside her, pulling almost out before sliding in again, each time, a little deeper, a little faster.

He slid an arm under her hips, tilting them slightly to allow him to plunge even deeper. With one last thrust, his control broke and he shuddered, spilling himself inside her. The warmth spreading inside her brought her to her second climax of the night and they held each other close, reveling in the pleasure given and received.

Able to speak again, he whispered in her ear, "You definately take my breath away."

XXXXXXXXXXX

So, let me know what you think. Reviews greatly apprecitated.

Now to get going on chapter 7...if you want it


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